Category: U.S. Research

Remembering Our Military Ancestors

On Veterans Day we remember those who have served in the United States armed forces, and many of us have ancestors who served in some capacity in the military. The Family History Guide has a wealth of resources to help you trace your ancestry in the military, including links to records, articles, videos, and databases. Here’s a quick summary of...

Discovering Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness sounds like a good idea—and it is. It’s actually a free website at RAOGK.org. As the name implies, it’s all about offering services to those doing genealogy research. Let’s take a look at what this amazing website has to offer, using the tabs at the top of the home page: Volunteer Directory: You can enter...

Tracing Your Pioneer Ancestors

This Wednesday, July 24, marks the 177th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers’ arrival into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Additional companies of immigrants came to Utah later, as well as many who traveled on to Oregon, California, and other states in the western U.S. One of my ancestors, Norman Taylor, was in the initial group of pioneers. At age...

Tracing Your Ancestors in Colonial America

Note: This article was published previously on The Family History Guide blog site in July 2023. As we just celebrated Independence Day in the United States, let’s remember our ancestors who lived in British Colonial America (what the United States used to be). There are some helpful resources in The Family History Guide to get you started or help you...

“Hidden” Features in The Family History Guide

You can find almost anything you need in The Family History Guide by using the top menus (or side menus if you’re on a tablet or phone). But there are some “hidden” features on the site that are harder to find but definitely worth the search. Here are eight of our favorites: Blank Tracker Sheets—When you log in to the...

New Practice Exercises for The Family History Guide

We have been working hard on adding new Record Search Practice Exercises to the website. We now have over 540 of them, with more to come. Using Practice Exercises is a great way to sharpen your skills with using record collections from around the world. You can easily locate the Practice Exercises using this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G8YRrJXc1ofmzF2YGu1FL1plt0qzTG4o-rW4RBvS5lc Countries and Territories with...

Live & Unrehearsed Video Series: Episodes 41 and 42

Here are more videos from the “Live and Unrehearsed” series. These videos will give you insight into how to do research online. They are released on the Goldie May YouTube Channel. Below are the links to Episodes 39 and 40: Episode 41 shows to to separate families that were accidentally merged, while cleaning up the facts, sources, and memories. Episode...

BYU FHL Webinar: United States Research with The Family History Guide

The webinar “United States Research with The Family History Guide” is now available for viewing on the BYU Family History Library YouTube channel. Here are some of the topics covered: Record types and use strategies Vital and cemetery records U.S. Censuses Immigration and Naturalization Military Records Church Records Land and Probate Records Doing research in states and counties Tools for...

Update on The Family History Guide Practice Exercises

The Practice Exercises for The Family History Guide country pages continue to roll along. We now have almost 450 exercises for a variety of records, with problem statements, hints, and answers. As of this writing, the exercises cover 39 countries, 50 U.S. states, and 39 England counties. The Practice Exercises page in the Trainers menu explains how to use the...

Live and Unrehearsed Video Series: Episodes 36-38

Here are some recent videos from the “Live and Unrehearsed” series. These video will give you insight into how to do research online. They are released on the Goldie May YouTube Channel. Below are the links to Episodes 36, 37, and 38: Episode 36 explore FAN-club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) research in Iowa. Episode 37 uses books and cemetery information...